Wilmington is a city located in the southeast of the state of North Carolina. It is the County seat of New Hanover County and has a population of approximately 112, 067. This makes Wilmington the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina, and it covers an area of around 41.5 square miles.

It is a port city, being located on the Cape Fear River. It was proximity to the river that spurred the initial permanent settlement of the area by European settlers in the 1720’s.

Wilmington NC went through a number of names in its early years. The city, then a small town, was initially called New Carthage. English settlers changed this to New Liverpool, which overtime changed to simply New Town, which was eventually commuted to Newton.

Finally, in 1740, the town was renamed for the final time, taking its name in honor of Spencer Compton, who held the title of Earl of Wilmington.

Wilmington is home to the United States Coastguard cutter USCGC Diligence, which moors up in the port. This means that, since 2003, Wilmington has been declared a “Coastguard City” – an honor shared by only fourteen cities in the United States.

Wilmington is also home to EUE Screen Gems Studio, which is the largest television studio in the United States, outside of the state of California. The sprawling complex includes a 37,500 square foot stage which contains a 90,000-gallon water tank for filming water based special effects.

Many television and feature film productions make use of the studio and city itself (for location shooting), giving rise to the nickname of East Hollywood.​In addition to the seaport, Wilmington also boasts an airport, Wilmington International Airport (ILM).Wilmington is a proud sister city to four other international cities including Dandong in China, Doncaster in the UK, Bridgetown in Barbados and San Pedro Town in Belize.